"Heh, Crassus, do you think I'm that stupid dragon? This time, you better not ruin my plans, or I'll seal you in ice again, you old bastard." Yulian said with a cold laugh, his voice chilling to the bone.
"Irina?" Mai Ge raised an eyebrow, silently repeating the name in his mind. The name seemed vaguely familiar. Seeing the two about to clash again, his eyes suddenly lit up.
In Crassus's records, twenty years ago he wanted to take the elven princess as his apprentice, but the matter was never resolved. However, judging from the current situation, this matter seemed to be inextricably linked to Yulian, so this Irina was very likely the elven princess.
"Hey? Black Charcoal, you're here! Where's Green Bean?" Amy jumped off the chair, looking at Black Charcoal with delight. The Ugly Duckling stared intently at Black Charcoal, meowing as if it wanted to pounce.
"That one's the laziest, still sleeping." Black Charcoal said with a hint of disdain, glancing at Crassus and taking two steps back with some apprehension. It had never seen such a terrifying old man before, radiating a dangerous aura.
"Alright." Amy nodded, then turned to look at Yulian and Crassus, who seemed about to start fighting again, and asked with some confusion, "Grandpa Turtle Shell, Grandpa Half Beard, are you going to fight? You can't do that in the restaurant, you have to behave."
"No, we're just chatting." Crassus immediately smiled and shook his head, his expression as obedient as could be.
"Yes, no fighting." Yulian hesitated for a moment, then forced a smile and nodded.
"No fighting?" Amy was a little disappointed, and tried to suggest, "Actually, if you want to fight, you two can go outside, then I can watch."
Crassus and Yulian were speechless. This girl not only didn't try to stop them from fighting, but she was actually encouraging them to fight just to watch the spectacle. This peculiar way of thinking reminded them of someone else. Back then, that girl also liked to stir up trouble like this, wanting them to compete against each other all day long.
"Do you two have something to say?" Mai Ge smiled and patted Amy's hair, looking at the two of them and asking. Although he also wanted to see two great mages fight, but now was clearly not the right time. If he wasn't mistaken, these two were probably here for Amy, otherwise, given their status, they certainly wouldn't be so humble.
"Boss Mai, I've come today to take the Little Boss as my apprentice." Crassus spoke first. Seeing Mai Ge frown, he quickly raised his hand and said, "Don't be so quick to refuse. You said you don't want the girl to leave your side, so I'll change the terms. She doesn't need to go to Luo Du. I've decided to build a new magic room in Chaos City and teach her magic here. I believe there are few teachers better than me in Chaos City, or even in the entire Nolan Continent."
"Stay in Chaos City?" Mai Ge's eyes lit up. Just as Crassus said, what he disliked most was Crassus's insistence from the beginning on taking Amy back to the Mage Tower. But if she could stay in Chaos City, combined with the information from this morning, there really weren't many more powerful mages in the entire Nolan Continent.
Crassus, observing the changes in Mai Ge's expression, also felt a hint of delight. Over the past few days, he had come to realize that Mai Ge's decision was the key.
"There aren't many, but one of them happens to be right here." Yulian, standing to the side, said leisurely, looking at Mai Ge with a forced smile. "Boss Mai, if the little girl was to learn magic from me, the magic room is ready-made, and she could start learning today. The materials for building the magic room have to be transported from Luo Du, and it wouldn't be possible to build it in less than a month. In that month, I can give her a comprehensive understanding of magic and teach her more than three types of magic. This is a complete head start."
"This condition…" Mai Ge stroked his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face. Inwardly, he was overjoyed. Two great mages, vying for a disciple, were actually promoting themselves here—it almost looked like teachers from two schools competing for top students.
"The magic room is not a problem at all. The requirements for the magic room are not too high in the initial stage. I just need to notify the Gray Temple, and I can borrow their magic room to start teaching." Crassus waved his hand, took out a scroll from his pocket and slowly unfolded it on the table. He looked at Amy with a smile and said, "Moreover, I designed the new magic room for Amy. It is the only one in the entire Nolan Continent. It will be mainly purple, and there will be swings, rocking horses... and other fun things. Amy can play as much as she wants when she gets tired of studying."
"Wow, this looks so interesting!" Amy walked over with the Ugly Duckling in her arms. Looking at the beautiful magic room in the picture, with its swings, rocking horses, and all sorts of fun toys, and the purple magic room decorated with all kinds of little stars, it looked absolutely dreamy. Her eyes lit up completely.
Mai Ge also looked at the picture with some surprise. It was clearly just a demonstration image. He hadn't expected Crassus to put so much effort into taking Amy as his apprentice; the level of importance he placed on it surprised him.
"What's the use of these fancy things?" Yulian peeked out, his expression a little unnatural. Looking at Amy, he thought anxiously, "Old man Crassus is so shameless! He came prepared. He used this trick before, and now he's using it again. This little girl doesn't have Irina's experience; she can't resist these little things!"
His gaze fell on the birdcage in his hand, his eyes lighting up. He smiled at Amy and said, "Amy, if you learn magic from me, then Black Charcoal and Green Bean are yours. They can play with you everyday and talk to you to keep you company."
"Wow! Old man, are you just going to sell me like this?! Little Amy has a cat!" Black Charcoal screamed, jumping up and down in the cage in a panic.
"Meow!" The Ugly Duckling bared its teeth at Black Charcoal, looking eager to try.
Black Charcoal became even more timid. Although it was still a small creature, it wasn't sure if it could really win if a fight broke out.
"I don't want to. The Ugly Duckling is ugly enough, and Black Charcoal is even uglier. What if Little Amy gets influenced by them and becomes ugly too?" Amy glanced at Black Charcoal and said with a look of disgust.
"Exactly, look at that bird, it's obviously not a good bird. If you like birds, Grandpa will go and catch you a beautiful golden peacock tomorrow." Crassus was worried that Amy would be tempted, but he was immediately amused by her words and said with some pride.
Yulian's expression froze. He glanced at Black Charcoal, who was bald and had two leaves tied to its chest and back, and looked rather ugly. But how could he let him down at such a crucial moment? He chuckled and said, "Black Charcoal may be a bit ugly, but it can sing. It's really fun. Come on, sing a couple of lines for me."
"Really?" Amy looked at Black Charcoal with some disbelief.